Disney Channel Pulls Episode Over ‘Food Allergy’ Uproar

A recent show seemed to make fun of gluten-free eaters

Gluten-free might sound like a diet fad these days, but for many, it’s the result of a very real medical problem: Celiac disease.

No wonder so many people were outraged when Disney (DIS) Channel ran an episode of “Jessie” that seemed to make fun of children with gluten food allergies.

In the episode, a character “who is sensitive to gluten is made out to be annoying and high-maintenance,” as The Huffington Post put it.

As a result, Amy Raslevich — a mother whose children both have Celiac disease — started a Change.org petition that soon received over 2,000 signatures. She wrote:

“For my kids, this is real. They are ostracized for a condition for which they did not ask, and because of which they will spend their entire lives having to make exceptions and special requests, all to keep them healthy and safe. They will often feel excluded or different, because they have to be to avoid serious illness.”

Granted, others argue that “in the episode, the other kids don’t seem to be making fun of a kid with Celiac disease, they’re making fun of kid who is making a series of haughty demands.” He “seems like a picky food snob — and a lot of people who stupidly choose to be gluten-free have some of the insufferable characteristics that this kid exhibits.”

Still, for those who don’t choose to be gluten-free at all, the snarky looks and remarks that come along with their necessary diets must be just as insufferable.